Tuesday, September 22, 2015

September 22 - Dempsey


Today’s movie is a sports biography with a scene that happens on September 22. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

DEMPSEY      
        
Jack Dempsey starts out fighting in bars for half the take. He wins his first professional fight.  After a later bout, he and his manager are held up at gunpoint and robbed of the purse. He sees the thieves later and beats them up to recover the cash. Jack meets Maxine Cates, but goes to New York to box. After a bout with Jack Johnson is a draw, he breaks with his manager and goes back to Salt Lake City and marries Maxine. After money disputes with her Maxine leaves and Dempsey goes to San Francisco.  Kerns becomes his manager. He wins fights goes to New York and divorces Maxine. He beats jess Willard by a TKO and becomes heavyweight champ. He goes to Hollywood to make films and gets sued for non-support by Maxine. He fights Firpo and is knocked out of the ring, but still wins. He is sick (perhaps poisoned), but still fight Tunney and loses in a TKO. On September 22, 1927 he fights Tunney again. Dempsey knocks Tunney down, but the count doesn’t start until Dempsey goes to a neutral corner. This gives Tunney time to recover and get up when the count reaches 9. In this famous “long count” fight Tunney wins by decision. 
                       
A gritty biopc of an American icon. This story is no paen, but tells the real story. Dempsey was a tough guy who made it on his own terms.

Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler by Randy Roberts (LSU Press, Baton Rouge, 1979) at pages 254-262 give the date of the bout

Producer - Jay Benson

Director - Gus Trikonis

Screenplay - Edward Di Lorenzo

Awards - The film was nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling and Outstanding Individual Achievement – Costumers Emmy awards.

Runtime - 1 hour 52 minutes

Released - Sept. 28, 1983

Starring -

Treat Williams as Jack Dempsey
Sam Waterston as Doc Kearns
Sally Kellerman as Maxine Cates
Victoria Tennant as Estelle Taylor

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015.

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